Browsing: Kevin Klein

This might be the last blog post under the old format. We’re scheduled to make the switch today. Fingers crossed. Here is my Rangers’ season preview, etc.: Can consistency be fixed? GREENBURGH – You can fix things like depth, speed and skill, and it appears the Rangers have done that. You…

In case you missed it, there was some big, big blog news in the post below. So scroll down to see it. Or click here. But don’t miss it again. Going to have a bunch of season preview stuff coming up, starting with — probably — my new colleague Andrew…

Flyers 4, Rangers 2. Click here for the official game summary. Click here for the official event summary. Thoughts: 1) The sixth and final game of another too-long preseason was a pretty gentlemanly, Lady Byng type game, you know, given the two teams involved. 2) So the Rangers go into…

NEW YORK – Rangers coach Alain Vigneault promised a very competitive camp, and the Rangers most certainly delivered. It was competitive to the point where Vigneault had to scrap his original plan of having pretty much his opening-night lineup for the final preseason game against Philadelphia at the Garden Thursday.…

Islanders 3, Rangers 2 (OT). Click here for the official game summary. Click here for the official event summary. Click here for Alain Vigneault’s post-game press conference video. Thoughts: 1) Tough one to watch, tough one to review. 2) You could see a lot of urgency from the bubble guys,…

PHILADELPHIA – Rangers coach Alain Vigneault still has some tough decisions to make among his forwards, but the ones he makes on defense can be make-or-breakers. Or could force the Rangers to make a move for help. Because so far, the Rangers’ defense has not established itself in terms of…

GREENBURGH – Rangers coach Alain Vigneault marveled, as did everybody else watching, as his new forward line lit up two training camp sessions Sunday. “If they’re anything like they were today in practice,” Vigneault laughed, “they’re going to be a handful. “They used their skill, their speed, and made some…

I’m losing interest in the World Cup of Hockey by the minute, and the opening of Rangers training camp in Greenburgh Thursday will further erode that interest. The Rangers will undergo physicals Thursday, and Friday they’ll do on-ice testing etc. Rangers coach Alain Vigneault is scheduled to meet the media…

By Jim Nasium How many of you here watch Game of Thrones? Since I can’t see whose hands are raised, I’m just going to assume that the majority of you are currently in the affirmative. Even if you don’t consider yourself a fan, I’m sure that even casual exposure to…

So I was all set to sit down and write this story on Ryan Graves when all hell broke loose in the NHL Wednesday. Holy shishkebab! First, Devils GM Ray Shero absolutely fleeced Edmonton GM Peter Chiarelli by dealing defenseman Adam Larsson, a good player, for an exceptional player and…

First things first. Happy Anniversary. I probably don’t need to say more. Second thing: When it comes to Ryan McDonagh, I really don’t want to hear this good captain/bad captain discussion. The team struggled this season. McDonagh, like most of his teammates, and his alternate captains, struggled this season. That…

Quick, who was the Rangers’ most consistent, reliable defenseman in a season in which so many were so inconsistent? Hint: He was the lowest paid of the top six. Another hint: He was the defenseman who did the least panicking, the least puck-chasing, and the most defending around the front…

All the advanced stats indicate Marc Staal had an awful year. I don’t disagree. I also don’t believe he’s necessarily done, that he will now be in a speedy decline at age 29, which really usually is the prime of a defenseman’s career. But I don’t know that he’s not.…

All season long, I wondered a lot of things regarding Dylan McIlrath’s season, as did a lot of you. One of the those, right off the bat, was whether he made the team in training camp — instead of Raphael Diaz — just because it would have required waivers, and…

Whatever happened on the negative side in Dan Boyle’s two seasons as a Ranger, some of it wasn’t his fault. I happen to not think he was as bad as many of my media brethren over the two years. I just didn’t. I actually liked his compete level, and thought…

Been thinking a lot, not just since the season ended for the Rangers, but for quite a while before that, about the way they defend. But first a couple of disclaimers. First, and foremost, I am not even going to pretend to understand the small details of the system employed…

Rebuild? Forget it. Not happening. The Rangers aren’t going to rebuild, nor can they. At least not in terms of tearing down the current roster and replacing a lot of pieces. It can’t happen with the team up against the salary cap, and it can’t happen because of no-move, no-trade…

Game 5: Penguins 6, Rangers 3. Click here for the boxscore with links to the official game summary, etc. Thoughts: 1) Well, that was fairly predictable. I know a lot of you guys held out hope, and with good reason. You counted on the core of this team that had…

Game 4: Penguins 5, Rangers 0. Click here for the boxscore with links to the official game summary, etc. Thoughts: 1) Heave Ho, three in a row? As in three straight wins? As in three straight years coming back from 3-1 down? 2) Not bloody likely, especially since this is…

I’m going on the FAN radio in Pittsburgh at 4 p.m. You can listen online at 937thefan.com. Rangers coach Alain Vigneault said he’s pondering some lineup changes at forward and on defense for Game 4, which likely means Oscar Lindberg’s speed goes in for Kevin Hayes, and Eric Staal moves to…